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Symposium SIP 2010

1st Symposium, May 4th-5th, 2010 in Brussels, Belgium

The main objectives for creating the SIP platform were to raise awareness for the impact that chronic pain has on both the individual and European society at large and to enable all parties and stakeholders involved in the management of chronic pain to have the opportunity to discuss and share ideas for improvement. Thus, the idea for a platform focusing on the “Societal Impact of Pain” was born.

The first Symposium SIP 2010 took place in Brussels, Belgium, on 4-5 May 2010. Almost 200 specialists and representatives from Europe’s highest ranking health authorities gathered in Brussels to discuss the “Societal Impact of Pain”.

The symposium saw a lively debate on interesting projects initiated in many countries to investigate the economic factors related to the burden of pain both on patients and the society and suggested future innovations. Awareness was raised on the fact that the Societal Impact of Pain represents a huge social burden due to the high pain-related costs that governments are constantly called to deal with, including absenteeism, disability allowances, assisted care, informal and family care, amongst others.